Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:53     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:41     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Some of the best people I’ve encountered in my profession (law) are people who worked in retail and food service. Real life skills. Good people skills.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:36     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son goes to a cringingly expensive university (97K a year!) and for the 3rd year in a row, he will be a STEM camp mentor to middle schoolers on a military base. They like him, and always welcome him back.

He also, through dogged determination, got a valuable research opp at his university, with a professor he loves. It was a last minute thing, totally unexpected, after desperately searching for internships FOR MONTHS, and writing endless cover letters and cold-emailing many people.

He still has never had an internship in his life

But this is better. It shows that an employer is willing to hire him again and again. And the research thing with a famous person in his field is the cherry on top, because it's exactly the specific thing he wants to do in his future career. He will be able to name-drop and talk about his project in future job interviews.

No, this is not a bad look at all, OP. You clearly are looking for any excuse to diminish your niece's accomplishments.



+1 Just because something is labeled internship doesn't make it a great opportunity. Your niece may not have been able to find a paying internship (lots of college kids can't, and don't have the family money to take an unpaid internship), or she may just like being out in the sunshine for one last year until she has to do a 9-5 job.

Either way, I envy the OP with her faux concern for her lifeguarding niece being such a big "problem" in her life that she had to ask strangers on DCUM about it.


I'm asking out of both slight concern and to better understand the landscape for our own children as they prepare for college. Thanks.


Did you try talking to your niece about how her summer plans came about?


+1. That would involve too much social interaction for the judgey OP.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:36     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What's that TikTok trend called, lazy girl or soft life? Whatever it is. That's what this reminds me of. Get into UVA or Georgetown and all you do is chill at the country club all summer as a lifeguard.


Lifeguarding sucks. Long hours, hot temps, cleaning gross trashcans out, etc.


No, depends on the pool. No cleaning.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:34     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:Just posted on the Maryland state parks group:

"Due to a limited number of qualified lifeguard applications, the Pocomoke River State Park's swimming pool will not be open to the public this summer. While we know the pool is a favorite for many visitors, certified lifeguards are required for safe operation.
The good news is that there is still so much to enjoy! From shaded hiking trails and paddling on the Pocomoke River to camping, fishing, and wildlife viewing, we invite you to come out and enjoy everything the park has to offer.

Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you this season."


They probably aren’t paying well.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:28     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I was a lifeguard as a rising college junior; it was fun and paid pretty well. I did my one and only serious internship as a rising senior. It all worked out just fine. My internship was interesting, fun and resulted in a job offer (which I declined). When I think back on those days I have many happy memories from being a lifeguard. Wouldn’t change anything.


30 years ago? Not relevant to kids graduating into this A.I. and global job market, where basically everyone their age has a bachelor’s degree.

Guilty as charged but have kids who went through the same thing. I also did a lot of college recruiting for my investment firm. In hiring I loved kids who had to work during the school year but still did well. Those kids were hungry and could balance responsibilities. I also liked college athletes who did well in school.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:28     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Comments here about OP are pretty harsh. Yes, having any job is better than sitting at home for 3 months. But lifeguarding (again) at this stage in college will put this student at a disadvantage when she graduates and enters the job market, absent family connections. Internships are an important stepping stone to future employment.


Forgot to add, I am pretty sure the niece already knows her lifeguarding job is not ideal. I hope OP is not pointing that out to the mom or the niece.

But there aren’t enough internships to go around. So many have been cut. So glad the niece has a summer job. There are many college students out there still looking for regular service-type summer jobs.


Again, no. Her lifeguarding job is ideal. It shows that she's relied upon every year at a job that was created to save lives. Much better than a summer "doing social media" for a no name company.


You can think that all you want. On a resume it's just a dumb, low skill gig.


Huh. “Low skills” like… decision making under pressure? Situational awareness? Conflict resolution? Problem solving? Attention to detail? Adaptability? Risk assessment?

I had an internship that required less than my college-aged kid has to do as a lifeguard.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:25     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
I will say my sister and I have a huge age gap, and for some reason my parents refused to encourage her to get internships? I told them she needed at least one (I had several) and they were like "It's too hard for her to get one." (It wasn't.) She was a Greek restaurant hostess in the summers. She wound up not getting a job for like two years after graduation and they were shocked.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:19     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Comments here about OP are pretty harsh. Yes, having any job is better than sitting at home for 3 months. But lifeguarding (again) at this stage in college will put this student at a disadvantage when she graduates and enters the job market, absent family connections. Internships are an important stepping stone to future employment.


Forgot to add, I am pretty sure the niece already knows her lifeguarding job is not ideal. I hope OP is not pointing that out to the mom or the niece.

But there aren’t enough internships to go around. So many have been cut. So glad the niece has a summer job. There are many college students out there still looking for regular service-type summer jobs.


Again, no. Her lifeguarding job is ideal. It shows that she's relied upon every year at a job that was created to save lives. Much better than a summer "doing social media" for a no name company.


You can think that all you want. On a resume it's just a dumb, low skill gig.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:18     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
My son is a rising jr and lifeguarding.
Lifeguarding has strengthened skills:
How do you enforce rules?
How do you communicate safety rules when you do not speak the same language?
Being responsible to be at the pool at 6:00 AM to open the pool at 6:30
Being flexible to work at different site across the city and supporting the needs of different guests across the city.
Asking guests to leave who are disruptive.
Understanding when you need to escalate a situation to others
etc etc etc

My son will have an internship next semester at school to get a better sense of what he may want to do when he graduates. But do not dismiss the summer lifeguard experience
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 21:06     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:What's that TikTok trend called, lazy girl or soft life? Whatever it is. That's what this reminds me of. Get into UVA or Georgetown and all you do is chill at the country club all summer as a lifeguard.


Lifeguarding sucks. Long hours, hot temps, cleaning gross trashcans out, etc.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 20:34     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:First of all, it is noe of your business. Secondly, having a lifeguarding job is better than no job. I work with college students looking for jobs every day, and it is a very tough market, even for rising seniors. She has a job, which is the main thing. I see too many students looking for jobs who didn't do anything before trying to find an internship summer before senior year and THAT is a bad look, not working as a life guard.


I am trying to explain this to my nineteen year old who wants to spend the summer doing nothing.


Well, I hope your niece isn't doing nothing as a lifeguard. Lifeguarding isn't just about saves. A big part of the job is maintaining water quality.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 20:33     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
What's that TikTok trend called, lazy girl or soft life? Whatever it is. That's what this reminds me of. Get into UVA or Georgetown and all you do is chill at the country club all summer as a lifeguard.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 20:31     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:Just posted on the Maryland state parks group:

"Due to a limited number of qualified lifeguard applications, the Pocomoke River State Park's swimming pool will not be open to the public this summer. While we know the pool is a favorite for many visitors, certified lifeguards are required for safe operation.
The good news is that there is still so much to enjoy! From shaded hiking trails and paddling on the Pocomoke River to camping, fishing, and wildlife viewing, we invite you to come out and enjoy everything the park has to offer.

Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you this season."


How do they define qualified? And how much were they offering per hour?
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2026 20:28     Subject: For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Comments here about OP are pretty harsh. Yes, having any job is better than sitting at home for 3 months. But lifeguarding (again) at this stage in college will put this student at a disadvantage when she graduates and enters the job market, absent family connections. Internships are an important stepping stone to future employment.


Forgot to add, I am pretty sure the niece already knows her lifeguarding job is not ideal. I hope OP is not pointing that out to the mom or the niece.

But there aren’t enough internships to go around. So many have been cut. So glad the niece has a summer job. There are many college students out there still looking for regular service-type summer jobs.


This. In this economy she is lucky she has any job.


Rising junior nursing students at public universities and community colleges are making $30 an hour all summer. As many hours as they want.